LOANS of up to £1million are available to innovative firms looking take the next leap forward.

The Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, known as SWLEP, is inviting businesses to apply for the next round of the Growing Places Infrastructure Fund Loan Programme.

The initiative will hand out loans ranging from £150,000 to £1m, to be repaid by 2023, for capital investment projects.

A digital innovation hub in Corsham was opened last month after a £2.5m injection from the fund.

Plastic recycling firm Recycling Technologies, based in South Marston, has been one of the success stories of the grant programme.

In February it was awarded £1million to help speed up the production of its RT7000 machines as well as stimulate innovation, growth and productivity gains.

Ravish Jain, commercial director of Recycling Technologies, said: “Recycling Technologies is an example of the latest innovation at the heart of Swindon and Wiltshire’s economy supported by the GPIF.

“The Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership is committed to supporting job creation in our area and being world-renowned for innovation, low carbon technology and quality of life.

“SWLEP’s support of our business, as we commercialise our technology, has been critical to our aim of installing additional and urgently needed new waste plastic recycling capacity, not only in the U.K. but globally.

The GPIF loan has been designed to support early-stage companies, therefore I urge our region’s entrepreneurs to apply for a GPIF loan and help shape the region’s future infrastructure needs. SWLEP support extends far beyond the funding, and we have been grateful for the networks we have reached and its support of our business in communications.”

The deadline for online applications is 5pm on May 7 this year and projects are expected to be initiated in 2019 with the loan due to be repaid by December 2023.

Further details can be found at www.swlep.co.uk/programmes-swlep/growing-places-infrastructure-fund by emailing Phil Clement at phil.clement@swlep.co.uk.